Dennis R. Schrader
The voice behind The Stewardship Project — a career spent helping institutions prepare, withstand, and recover, at the hospital, state, and federal levels.
The Project
The Stewardship Project
The Stewardship Project is a weekly invitation to reflect — on resilience, culture, teamwork, and responsibility, and on the institutions that depend on all four. Each week brings commentary that looks at the ideas and themes shaping our public life through the lens of history, alongside essays drawn from a long career and insights from others worth sharing.
It is written for a national audience and built for reflection, not argument. The aim is not to debate ideologies or settle scores, but to think clearly together about what good stewardship asks of us — in our organizations, our communities, and the responsibilities we hand to those who come next.
About Dennis
Dennis R. Schrader has spent more than three decades doing the hard work of preparedness, recovery, and institutional transformation, at the hospital, state, and federal levels.
Most recently, he returned to public service in the administration of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, leading the Maryland Department of Health through its most consequential period. He served as Deputy Secretary for Health Care Financing and the state’s Medicaid Director, as Chief Operating Officer, and ultimately as Secretary of Health, confirmed by the Maryland Senate 45–2, where he directed the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
He served as Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after being confirmed by the United States Senate in 2007, overseeing the strategy, policy, and planning guidance to build the nation’s prevention, protection, and recovery capabilities for all-hazards scenarios, including acts of terrorism.
Earlier, as Maryland’s first Director of Homeland Security under Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., he established the office from scratch, stood up one of the nation’s first state information-sharing Fusion Centers, and advanced public-safety communications and information-sharing across the state.
For 16 years he was part of the executive team at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), as Director of Operations and Vice President of Facilities Management and of Project Planning and Development, that transformed a nearly bankrupt state hospital into a nationally recognized institution. That turnaround is the story he tells in The Maryland Phoenix.
He began his career as a manufacturing supervisor in the auto industry before serving as a U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer with deployments to Guam and Diego Garcia and tours in Sicily and at Bethesda Naval Hospital, retiring with the rank of Captain. A native of Buffalo, N.Y., he holds a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering and is a licensed professional engineer.
Recognition
In the words of those he served
“I can honestly say that Maryland is much better prepared today to address the challenges of homeland security than it was prior to you taking office. It became obvious to me that you really cared about law enforcement issues and you took the time to listen to problems as I brought them to you. This is only one example of your leadership I have witnessed.”
Chief G. Wayne Livesay
President, Maryland Chiefs of Police Association · 2004
View letter (PDF)“Your participation in the forum was both insightful and beneficial in helping all of us better understand the issues and the process, and we all look forward to continuing to work with you on this very complex problem.”
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer
U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic Whip · 2003
View letter (PDF)In the News & Public Record
Selected coverage
From his Senate-confirmed federal service to leading Maryland’s health response, coverage and primary records spanning the career.
- The Daily Record March 2022
Dennis Schrader, Power List Profile ↗
A career profile of Schrader’s leadership across Maryland health and homeland security.
- Maryland Matters April 2021
Analysis: Why Dennis Schrader Sailed Through His Senate Confirmation ↗
On his 45–2 confirmation as Maryland Secretary of Health.
- The Baltimore Sun January 2021
Hogan again appoints Dennis Schrader as state health secretary ↗
Coverage of his appointment to lead the Maryland Department of Health.
- Domestic Preparedness 2007
Dennis R. Schrader, Deputy Administrator, National Preparedness, FEMA ↗
A profile of his national-preparedness role at FEMA.
- U.S. Senate (HSGAC) July 2007
Confirmation Hearing, Nomination to FEMA (S. Hrg. 110-274) ↗
Senate testimony on his nomination as FEMA Deputy Administrator. Primary record.
- The White House April 2007
President Bush Nominates Dennis R. Schrader (FEMA) ↗
The presidential nomination announcement. Primary record.
- Office of Sen. Ben Cardin 2007
Senator Cardin Supports Marylander Dennis Schrader for a Top Position at FEMA ↗
A bipartisan endorsement of his FEMA nomination.
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